Call for tighter control on hill tracks

Mountaineering Scotland has endorsed a new report on the construction of tracks in the hills, which was launched today by Scottish Environment LINK.

The report, “Changing Tracks”, focuses on the effectiveness of planning controls and has been timed to coincide with the passage of a Planning Bill through the Scottish Parliament.

The ploughing of tracks up hillsides is something that bothers many who enjoy the Scottish hills. A survey in 2017 of our members’ interests showed that 90% of respondents thought that new hill roads were a threat to upland landscapes and that we should continue to campaign for greater controls on them.

The background to the new report is the ease with which landowners can drive new tracks into the hills. If it can be argued that the track is for agricultural or forestry use, then the landowner can go ahead without any need for planning permission, under what is known as Permitted Development Rights. In 2014, after vigorous campaigning by outdoor recreation organisations, this right was modified to insist that Prior Notification for such works was lodged with the local planning authority. However the LINK report highlights serious shortcomings with the new system.

Stuart Younie, Mountaineering Scotland’s Chief Executive Officer said: “The proliferation of these built roads in the landscape is of great concern. The legacy of damaged landscapes is something we must try to limit through greater democratic accountability. Although some landscapes receive protection in the planning system, as things stand many areas are still vulnerable to uncontrolled track building.”

Davie Black, Access & Conservation Officer, said: “When Permitted Development Rights were brought in during the middle of the 20^th Century it was to address a national need post-war. Times have moved on, and with it the ability of heavy machinery to sculpt the landscape to a greater degree. 

“We now need legislation to move with the times too and bring this right for track construction under greater oversight. Prior Notification was a small step in the right direction, but the report highlights that many of the so-called agricultural tracks have weak justification and enable new tracks for field sports, which should be covered by planning controls.”

The “Changing Tracks” report from Scottish Environment LINK indicates that the current system is confusing, that there is a democratic deficit inherent in it, and that the landscape and – crucially – that environmental damage continues. Mountaineering Scotland is fully behind the call for tighter control of tracks, and supports the call for the loosely defined Permitted Development Rights to be withdrawn from those claimed to be for agricultural purposes.

"Changing Tracks", the full Scottish Environment LINK report can be read here.